|
|
|
Review
| And Justice for Some: Exploring American Justice through Drama and Theatre, by Wendy Lement and Bethany Dunakin. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2005, 215 pages. $ 22.50, paper.
|
| A dramatist, according to noted playwright Thornton Wilder, "is one who believes that the pure event, an action involving human beings, is more arresting than any comment that can be made upon it." Although Wilder made this assertion over a half a century ago, his comment still serves to illustrate the arresting power of drama and the potential it holds for history educators today who are innovative enough to integrate it into their classrooms. Incorporation of drama into education, though, is anything but new to the educational landscape. John Dewey, for example, in his speeches and writings of a century ago made numerous references to the importance of cooperative play in the development of children. There still remains, however, much to be learned about the role of drama in history education. In their book And Justice for Some: Exploring American Justice through Drama and Theatre, Wendy Lement, an associate professor of theatre, and Bethany Dunakin, a certified teacher in communication and performing arts, provide classroom history teachers not only with a set of four plays which may be integrated into their American history curriculum, but also a model for adding drama to their instructional repertoire. |
1
|
|
First and foremost, And Justice for Some is intended to provide middle school and high school history and social studies teachers with four original plays that examine the theme of injustice in seventeenth-, nineteenth-, and twentieth-century American history. The historical events which Lement and Dunakin have chosen to illustrate their theme of injustice are the Salem witch trials, the Anthony Burns fugitive slave trial, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg trial. Each of these plays includes a brief overview of the historical event and setting for the trial, a listing of the characters, and the text of the original play. In addition, the authors provide a study guide at the conclusion of each play which includes learning objectives, a historical timeline of the period, definitions of key terms, biographical sketches of important historical figures involved in the event, pre- and post-performance lesson plans, and a bibliography of primary and secondary print and digital sources. History teachers will appreciate the organization of the study guide, which makes it quite easy for them to edit the materials as needed and then assemble and distribute them for classroom use. The curricular materials and instructional activities designed for each play/event are clearly not intended to be "add-ons," but are designed, instead, to play a critical role in setting the historical stage or context for each event, and for ensuring that students take with them from each play and classroom discussion a deeper, empathic understanding of the historical figures and event itself. |
2
|
|
In addition to providing four original plays classroom use, the authors have another purpose in mind as well for And Justice for Some. Lement and Dunakin also want to provide history teachers not only with a model for introducing drama in the classroom, but also with a method by which they may create their own plays based on primary source documents. The authors dedicate the last chapter of their book to this end, by revealing the planning, research, and production processes they engaged in while producing the plays for And Justice for Some. In addition, they outline guidelines for converting oral history projects into documentary theatre scripts. Although they are not historians, Lement and Dunakin clearly demonstrate an understanding and appreciation for historical thinking and research. |
3
|
|
One shortcoming of And Justice for Some is that the authors overlook some of the more recent scholarship on the historical topics which they use in their plays. For example, they neglect to examine factors and issues that may have played a role in the hysteria surrounding the Salem witch trials of 1692 such as those identified by Mary Beth Norton in her recent book In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. Instead they choose to portray the event in almost the same manner as Hollywood in the 1990's film adaptation of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. The other shortcoming concerns the hybrid design of the chapters. Although intended for classroom history teachers, the book also includes information that perhaps only drama teachers may find of interest and/or use. For example, there are numerous references to the theater groups in which the plays were first performed, and even the inclusion of the original cast members' names in the list of characters. This has no utility for history classroom teachers. In some cases, such seemingly nonessential data even supplants critical historical information. For example, in the overview section of the first play more space is allocated to informing the reader about the Children's Theatre in which the play was first performed (e.g., the authors position at the time within the organization, the location of the theatre, the current name of the theatre group) than is dedicated to introducing the reader to the historical context of the play. Despite these shortcomings And Justice for Some remains a great resource and model for integrating drama into the history classroom. |
4
|
| | |
| Ball State University |
D. Antonio Cantu |
|
Content in the History Cooperative database is intended for personal, noncommercial use only. You may not reproduce, publish, distribute, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, modify, create derivative works from, display, or in any way exploit the History Cooperative database in whole or in part without the written permission of the copyright holder.
|